BELGIAN COOKIE CRUMBLES: This one blew my mind. In November 2015 Facebook was told by a Brussels court to stop tracking its users once they leave the Facebook site by using cookies. But the ruling contains some English words — cookie, homepage and browser among others. That, Facebook claims, is contrary to a Belgian law that says all rulings must be in the official languages of the country, and means the whole ruling must be annulled. http://politi.co/1OPPbK7

Hang on a minute: “Cookie” is listed in the Duden, the dictionary used as a reference for fights over a Scrabble game, in at least one of the official languages of Belgium: Cookie | So is “Homepage”| And so is “Browser”

D-DAY FOR TAX: The European Commission will unveil its new tax directive today. The proposed legislation will bring the EU in line with proposals from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and is considered a critical step toward harmonizing certain tax policies within the EU. Tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici is locked in an intense debate with the U.K., which objects to the proposals. Guardian | POLITICO

EUROPE — VISIONS OF DOOM UNITE A CONTINENT: Matthew Karnitschnig writes, “By nature, Europe’s idealists and doubters rarely see eye to eye, clashing over everything from bent cucumbers to bailouts. When it comes to predicting Europe’s future, however, the antagonists have found common ground. Their conclusion: The end could be nigh.” http://politi.co/1NCkjbZ

SECURITY — EU PASSPORT FRAUD ‘EPIDEMIC:’ The refugee crisis and the Paris attacks have thrown a spotlight on Europe’s passport free-for-all. The trade in forged and stolen passports “is so out of control that the U.S. has given five EU countries until next week to act or risk losing visa-free travel rights.” Giulia Paravicini reports: http://politi.co/1PUbcVK

NATO ANNUAL REPORT RELEASED THIS MORNING: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg launches the alliance’s Annual Report 2015 at 10 am. It sets out facts and figures on NATO’s biggest reinforcement since the Cold War, including the latest Allied defense spending data. Oh, and NATO has printed it on 100 percent recycled paper to show you the softer side of the military. http://bit.ly/1nOs2Pe

**A message fromTata Consultancy Services: TCS’s latest survey on European youth and social media indicates a growing impact on jobs, skills and growth**

BREXIT — CAMERON CLOSES IN ON RENEGOTIATION DEAL: The U.K. prime minister has canceled Friday meetings with the leaders of Denmark and Sweden because he can sense how close negotiators are to a draft deal, and he will meet with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to lock the text down. Tara Palmeri reports there is “political consensus among the bloc’s countries on three of his four demands, EU diplomats told POLITICO. But the fourth demand — a controversial plan to curb benefits for EU migrants — remains a sticking point.” There’ll be no blanket four-year ban on in-work benefits for EU migrants, but momentum is emerging around “the use of an ‘emergency brake’ mechanism that would activate the four-year ban if the U.K. could prove its public services were under strain because of an influx of migrants.” If all goes well Donald Tusk will likely circulate a draft text on the U.K. renegotiation Monday. http://politi.co/1nzCryn

MIGRATION — SWEDEN PLANS TO EXPEL 80,000 ASYLUM-SEEKERS: Sweden will expel up to 80,000 asylum-seekers who arrived in 2015 and whose applications had been rejected, interior minister Anders Ygeman said Wednesday. “We are talking about 60,000 people but the number could climb to 80,000,” the minister was quoted as saying by Swedish media. http://bit.ly/1ZUhoCk

GREECE — THREE-MONTH NOTICE TO FIX ITS BORDER OR BE EJECTED FROM SCHENGEN: Greece “seriously neglected its obligations” to control the EU’s external border, the European Commission warned Wednesday. Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said “more needs to be done [by Greece] … This includes proper reception, registration, relocation or return of migrants in order to bring Schengen’s functioning back to normal.” Athens now has three months to improve the situation, or face border checks being forced on it “to protect the common interest of the Schengen area.” Commission statement | POLITICO

GREECE — FIGHTS BACK IN MIGRATION TUSSLE: The Greek Foreign Ministry is circulating a document called “Refugee Crisis 2015 — facts.” For example, the Hellenic Coast Guard rescued 103,372 people last year. And they expect to shell out another €350 million for rescues in 2016. Greek government spokesperson Olga Gerovassili pushed responsibility away from Greece and onto Turkey: “Just two days ago, EU interior ministers reached a decision for a common European solution to the migration crisis. The decision’s main point is that managing the refugee flows depends primordially on Turkey and on Turkey’s compliance with what has been agreed. However, the EU-Turkey agreement does not advance, without anyone in Greece being responsible for that.”

ITALY — AGREEMENT TO SELL OFF BAD BANK LOANS TO INVESTORS: Italian banks will soon be offloading €350 billion of non-performing loans. It looks like a good deal for all, but may come back to bite everyone politically if investors make a ton of money off everyone else’s misfortune. Hortense Goulard reports: http://politi.co/23u6J5X

SPAIN — RAJOY’S GOVERNING CHANCES HIT BY CORRUPTION CASE: After several active and former Popular Party members were arrested in a corruption crackdown, potential coalition partners from both left and right used the case to lash out at the Spanish prime minister. Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera, often portrayed as closest to Rajoy, said “what the Spanish see is this unsupportable corruption … in the Popular Party.” As the political stalemate after the December elections continues, the king opened yesterday a second round of consultations with political leaders: http://politi.co/1UreovZ

CARS — REACTIONS TO THE COMMISSION’S NEW CAR INDUSTRY ENFORCEMENT PROPOSALS: Brussels wants to have more power over how cars are tested and approved in the EU, as previewed first in yesterday’s Playbook. From Playbook’s vantage point is seems that big countries like Germany are not yet wading into the debate.

Political reactions: Giovanni La Via, the chair of the Parliament’s environment committee and an Italian MEP from the European People’s Party (the largest group in the assembly), welcomed the “shake-up.” The Greens and Liberals also back the plan.

Industry reactions: Carmakers claim to welcome “any new ideas on improving the current system” — but reserve the right to analyze the plans in detail, so watch that space closely.

NGO reactions: Transport and Environment says it is happy Brussels is trying to bring carmakers into line, but wishes they included “sanctions on compromised national authorities.”

MIGRATION — EU MINISTERS WELCOME START-UP VISA PLAN: Research and innovation ministers welcomed yesterday a plan by Neelie Kroes on behalf of the Dutch EU presidency to create an EU-wide start-up visa, bucking the current trend for draconian migration measures. It remains to be seen what interior ministers responsible for migration policies will say. The research ministers also responded to calls by universities and Bill Gates by expediting efforts to bring “open access” to the data behind all publicly funded research in the EU. A conference to help speed the process up will be held in early April. http://politi.co/1QESvKg

MIGRATION — CANADIAN CONTRIBUTION HITS HALFWAY MARK: 13,000 Syrians, out of 25,000 promised, have been resettled to Canada so far, and its turning out to be a political winner. “We have a 70 percent approval rate of our resettlement program among the people and on a political level there is no one who really opposes it,” David Manicom, associate assistant deputy minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, told POLITICO. “We focus on the most vulnerable,” says Manicom, and with UNHCR saying almost 4.6 million Syrians are registered in refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, Canada has a large number of people to choose from. While the Canadians are open about wanting to avoid security problems Manicom insists that “education and social standing have zero influence on our choice.”

COMMISSION — WOMEN ADVANCE AT DG AGRICULTURE: EU agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan has been blogging about a rare achievement in the EU. “Since taking up office in November 2014, eight out of 11 high level appointments — at director and head-of-unit level — have gone to female candidates.” http://bit.ly/1lUPFnL

RENZI AND MERKEL TO MEET: On Friday, the German chancellor and the Italian prime minister will meet in Berlin. The discussion will focus on what, if any, budget flexibility Renzi can wring out of Merkel. Florian Eder’s column about Angela Merkel’s waning influence on these issues: http://bit.ly/1nkMPJL.

US 2016 — THE DONALD DUCK: Trump says he won’t join the next Republican debate. No one is certain why, though it is generally agreed that it’s not because of the reason he claims: that Fox News insists on having “lightweight reporter” Megyn Kelly (Trump’s words, not mine) as one of its moderators. Read the extraordinary Trump letter about the issue here: http://bit.ly/20u30mp

US 2016 — BRUSSELS GETS TRUMPED: Donald Trump has figured how to go from carnivalesque to hated in Belgium, with his comment that Brussels is a “hellhole.” Trump, who hasn’t visited Brussels in 20 years, may now achieve something many Europeans thought impossible: He could make them remember George W. Bush fondly. On a practical level Bruxellois hit back with the message that “this ain’t no hellhole” on social media yesterday. Laurens Cerulus tracked the response: http://politi.co/1nPcxqi

PARTY WEEK: The tail end of the week is notable for its parties. Last night everyone from Bavaria to the Finnish consultancy Miltton, and from the Parliament to the “End FGM” campaign, were sharing the drinks. Next up tonight is the consultancy mega-party of the year from FTI Consulting.

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION CAMPAIGN RAMPS UP: After a year spun off from Amnesty, the European End FGM network launched in earnest last night in a tent on the Parliament’s forecourt with testimony from survivor and board member Zahra Nahleie. Having come from Somalia to study in the Netherlands, she explained how promoting cultural change is key to ending the practice of FGM. Around 180,000 girls in Europe are at risk, and End FGM brings together 11 organizations in 10 countries with a view to ending FGM in Europe. http://bit.ly/1lUJlwA

SPOTTED: Kaja Kallas in an Edie Sedgwick print dress at POLITICO’s Youth and Social Media event.

APPOINTED: Sharon Donnery as deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland.

**A message from Tata Consultancy Services: Tata Consultancy Services’ survey on European youth and social media indicates a growing impact on jobs, skills & growth. The largest study of its kind, the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) survey analyzed the views of over 5000 young people across 15 EU member countries. It demonstrates the growing and positive role that the digital force of social media is playing in empowering young people. The general perception has always been that social media is something young people use for personal purposes, to stay in touch with their friends and share experiences. The study by TCS exposes this myth by showing how pervasive social media has become in empowering young Europeans in their academic and professional lives.**

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